# Claudemy: an open-source alternative to Udemy and Coursera

You wanted to learn negotiation. You got a 40-hour course, a syllabus someone wrote years ago, and a tab you never reopened.

Claudemy is a free Claude Code skill that builds the course you will actually finish. You name a topic. It researches the web and hands back about 12 audio lessons of 2 minutes each.

```
> teach me negotiation
```

![Claudemy demo: type a topic, get 2-minute audio lessons, each with a card, one thing to try and a rule to keep](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/assafkip/claudemy/assets/claudemy-demo.gif)

With sound (or [play it on the site](https://assafkip.github.io/claudemy/), no install needed):

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d6447515-f442-4b77-a482-544d95dc4799

## What lesson 1 looks like

The demo above is a real negotiation course. Lesson 1 is "Your Walk-Away", 2:27 of two hosts talking. The card next to it gives you:

- **The idea in three lines.** Decide what you will do if the ask fails, before you ask.
- **How many sources agree**, and who does not.
- **One small thing to try**, with the time it takes.
- **Links to the pages it came from.**

Listen for 2 minutes. Try one thing. Keep one rule.

## What you get

- **About 12 audio lessons, 2 minutes each.** Two hosts talking, not a lecture. MP3 files you can play anywhere.
- **A card per lesson.** Three-line idea, source agreement, one practice, links to go deeper.
- **A playbook.** One rule per lesson, collected in one file you keep.
- **A lesson plan that shows where the experts split.** Laid out as decisions, not lessons.
- **Real citations.** A checker refuses any lesson that cites a page the research did not actually read. [How it works, and what it misses](https://assafkip.github.io/claudemy/blog/citation-checker.html).

## How it works

1. **Maps the topic** into sub-topics, based on how it is usually taught.
2. **Researches the web.** 20 to 40 pages from practitioners, official docs, research summaries and a few dissenting views. No more than 3 pages from one site, so no single voice dominates.
3. **Reads and compares.** Reader agents pull cited notes. One agent merges them into themes with agreement counts.
4. **Plans the course** in arcs of about 4 lessons, foundations first.
5. **Makes one sample lesson** and waits for your reaction. Then it writes and records the rest.

Want a class built from one person's work instead? Say so: `teach me negotiation from <name>'s writing`. It reads their Substack or blog and builds the class from that.

## Install

As a Claude Code plugin:

```
/plugin marketplace add assafkip/claudemy
/plugin install claudemy@claudemy
```

Or copy `skills/claudemy/` into `~/.claude/skills/`, or download [`claudemy.skill` from the latest release](https://github.com/assafkip/claudemy/releases/latest/download/claudemy.skill).

Then ask for any topic: `teach me <topic>`.

## Needs

- [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) with web search.
- Python 3 with `beautifulsoup4` (`pip install beautifulsoup4`), and `ffmpeg`.
- Audio: an ElevenLabs API key for natural two-voice lessons, either in `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` or typed into the plugin's configuration prompt when you install it (stored in your OS keychain). Without one, macOS's built-in voices are used (free, plainer).
- Optional: `pandoc` for a Word copy of the cards.

Voices can be changed with `CLAUDEMY_VOICE_A` / `CLAUDEMY_VOICE_B` (ElevenLabs voice ids) or `CLAUDEMY_SAY_A` / `CLAUDEMY_SAY_B` (macOS voices).

## Data
Claudemy runs on your machine inside Claude Code. It fetches the public web pages it researches and saves them in a local workspace folder. If you set an ElevenLabs API key, the text of each lesson is sent to ElevenLabs to render the audio. Without a key, audio is rendered locally with macOS voices. The skill has no server, collects no analytics, and stores nothing outside your machine. Details: [privacy page](https://assafkip.github.io/claudemy/privacy.html).

## FAQ

**Is Claudemy free?**
Yes. The skill is MIT licensed. You pay only for what you already use: your Claude plan, and ElevenLabs credits if you want the premium voices. The macOS voices cost nothing.

**How is it different from Udemy or Coursera?**
Course sites sell a fixed course someone recorded once. Claudemy builds a course on the topic you name, at your level, from current sources, and shows you where those sources disagree. Lessons are 2 minutes and end in one thing to try, so the course is built to be finished.

**What topics does it work for?**
Anything people write about well on the open web. Skills (negotiation, public speaking, sourdough), professional topics (pricing, hiring, SQL), and subjects (stoicism, music theory). Health, legal and financial topics get a note where advice depends on your situation.

**Does it copy other people's content?**
No. It reads pages the way a researcher does, writes its own lessons, and links to the sources. Pages it reads are saved only in your local workspace for your own study.

**Can I use it without ElevenLabs?**
Yes. On a Mac it falls back to the built-in voices. The cards and playbook work with no audio at all.

**How long does a course take to make?**
A 12-lesson course is a long-running Claude Code session: research, reading, writing and about 25 minutes of generated audio.

**Can I learn from one specific expert?**
Yes. Name them in the request. Claudemy finds their Substack or blog and builds the course from their writing.

## Who built it

Built by Assaf Kipnis. I run ASK Consulting, a fractional Trust & Safety and fraud intelligence practice. More of my work: [askconsulting.io](https://askconsulting.io/?utm_source=claudemy&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=readme)

## License

MIT. Free to use, change and share.